Abstract

This chapter discusses the work of three Indigenous Pacific novelists: Albert Wendt, Sia Figiel, and Epeli Hau’ofa. Wendt, Figiel, and Hau’ofa all come from the anglophone south-west of Oceania, where Indigenous Pacific literature in English first emerged and became established as an academic field of study in the 1970s. The establishment of the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Fiji in 1968 played an important part in their literary trajectories, particularly Wendt and Hau’ofa. The South Pacific Creative Arts Society (SPCAS), founded at USP in 1972, provided publishing opportunities for many emerging writers from the countries served by USP. The chapter examines examples of fiction by Wendt, Figiel, and Hau’ofa, such as Leaves of the Banyan Tree (1979, Wendt), Where We Once Belonged (1996, Figiel), and Tales of the Tikongs (1983, Hau’ofa).

Research areas

Albert Wendt, Epeli Hau’ofa, indigenous pacific literature, indigenous pacific novel, indigenous pacific novelists, publishing, Sia figiel, tales of the tikongs, University of the south pacific, Where we once belonged